Romanian Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu has announced plans to significantly increase fines for feeding bears, as their population growth has led to an increase in incidents. This is what she is about reported in an interview with RFI.
Buzoianu noted that feeding animals leads to the loss of instinctive fear of people, so “he will interact with people in one way or another, and we will come to dramatic incidents.”
“These days we will have the final version of the project, which we will propose for a sharp increase in fines and a precise definition in the law of feeding animals,” – she announced.
The minister did not specify the specific amounts of future fines, but noted that currently those guilty of feeding bears are often punished only for violating parking rules.
“We are in a situation in which Romania, according to the results of discussions with experts, can keep somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 bears. According to preliminary estimates, today we have somewhere between 10 and 12 thousand.” – explained to Buzoyanu.
In recent years, more and more cases of bears entering settlements in search of food have been recorded in Romania. According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Romania, over the past 20 years, bears have caused the death of almost 30 people. In order to control the population and reduce the number of attacks, the country’s authorities plan to simplify the procedure for shooting wild animals.
